<p>
[QUOTE=ab2013]
Would programs programmed for Linux that work on Red Hat also work on Ubuntu?
[/quote]
Yes. It used to be that Linux software was primarily tested on Red Hat, but these days, Ubuntu seems to be the first priority for almost all application vendors.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=ab2013]
What are the differences between the two?
[/quote]
Out of the things that you would notice, nothing important. Just things like the default wallpaper and other theme details.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=ab2013]
Would Red Hat be better for engineering studies or it doesn’t matter?
[/quote]
It doesn’t matter. For the end-user, all distributions are basically the same.</p>
<p>Also, don’t forget that you have various options for running Windows programs:
- Dual booting. This means when you boot your computer, you can pick which operating system to use. To switch, you would have to restart, but you can install software on Windows & Linux to access each other’s partitions. Ubuntu supports automatically setting up a dual boot configuration if you already have Windows installed when you install it.
- Virtualization. This means you can run Windows inside Linux (or vice versa). File access between the guest and host (Windows and Linux, respectively, in this case) operating systems is also possible. VirtualBox would be the best software to use for this. I think this is the best option; the only thing it lacks is support for 3D gaming.
- Wine, which lets you directly run Windows software in Linux, though support is far from perfect and many of the more complex applications crash when run in Wine. However, many popular older games are supported (such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft, WarCraft III, Counter-Strike, etc.) and it’s getting better all the time.</p>